Lamp socket or connecter



June 22 1926.

C. E. GODLEY LAMP SOCKET OR CONNECTER Filed March 25, 1925 Patented June 22, 1926.

UNITED'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. GODLEY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOIt 'ro nnmunns & JONES COR- PORATION, OF DETROIT, .MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LAMP SOCKET Application filed March My invention relates to electric lamp sockets or connecters for use with lamps or other terminal-carriers which are provided on their base ends with a plurality of terminals respectively engaged by wire terminals in the socket or connecter, and more particularly to sockets or connecters of this class in which the wire terminals are springpressed against the base terminals of the lamp or the like.

In double-pole lamp sockets of this type, it has heretofore been customary to mount both of the wire terminals on an insulator which is slidable in the shell of the socket and which is continuously pressed towards the mouth of the socket by a spring, and it has also been customary to have the wires for the socket extend slidably through the rear end of the socket shell. With such constructions two difliculties have hereto-.

fore been encountered, one being that .of securing a good contact between each wire terminal of the socket and the adjacent base terminal of the lamp when the associated lamp and socket parts are not constructed with complete uniformity in size. Another difficulty is that of preventing the insulator and the wire terminals carried by it from being rotated out of their proper positions during the attaching of the lamp base to the usual bayonet slots in the socket, as projecting pieces of solder on the terminals of the lamp base would sometimes catch on the wire terminals and hence would rotate the insulator instead of sliding freely over these terminals.

y both of these objections in a simple and effective manner and also aims to provide an easily assembled and inexpensive socket or connecter construction suitable for use with lamps or other terminal carriers having a plurality of base terminals. More particularly, my invention provides a socket or connecter construction in which each wire terminal is independently movable and separately spring-pressed towards the lamp base and in which simple and positive means prevent each wire terminal from being moved rotationally of the axis of the lamp base. It also provides simple and effective means for preventin each wire terminal from tilting in any irection.

Still furtherand also more detailed objects will appear from the following specipresent invention aims to overcome.

OR CONNECTER.

25, 1925. Serial No. 18,108.

a double pole lamp socket. or connecter em bodying my invention. I

Fig. 2 is a front end view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a rear end view. Fig. 4 is an enlarged central and longitudinal section through the same lamp socxet, taken along the line 4-4: of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken along the line 66'of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a perspective viewof one of the terminal-carrying insulators of the socket.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the slidable presser and guide members of the socket.

In the drawings, the illustrated lamp socket includes a cup-shaped shell having a cylindrical side wall 1 provided at its mouth with the usual pair of bayonet slots 2 for receiving and engaging the customary lateral pins 3 on the base of the lamp 9/]: with which the socket is to be used, which lamp has the usual base-terminals 4 and 4" to which electrical connections are to be made respectively from a pairof insulated wires 5 and 6. For making these connec-' tions, I am here showing a pair of contacts 7 and 8, each of' which isthe head of the metal tack having its stem driven into the end of one of the wires between the strands forming the core of that wire. Each of the said wire ends extends through a bore 9 in a flat insulator of semi-circular contour corresponding in diameter to that of the bore of the cylindrical shell wall 1 The two insulators are disposed with their flat edges abutting against each other so that" they form a split circular dish when their faces are in ahnement, but can slide alon side each other longitudinally of the shell.

Each insulator bore '9 is desirably enlarged in diameter at its forward end so as to afford an annular shoulder 10 on which the corresponding tack head (or contact.

each wire is preferably of an outside diameter normally corresponding to ,the diameter of the bore 9, so that the expanding of the strands of the core of the wire during the insertion of the stem of the tack compresses the insulation against the wall of the bore and anchors the wire to the menlator.

Each of the insulated wires extends slid ably through a bore formed in the rear end 11 of the socket shell in alinement with the insulator bore 9 in which the same wire is anchored, so as to permit the WIIB lZO move freely longitudinally of the shell w th the insulator to which it is anchored. Interposed between each insulator 12 and the rear end 11 of the socket shell is a compression spring 13 which continuously urges the corresponding insulator forwardly of the socket by pressure transmitted through a presser plate 23 bearing against the back of the insulator, this plate having a perforation 14 through which the adjacent wire extends. The presser and guide member of which the resser plate 23 forms a part also has portion extending longitudinally of the socket through the rear end of the shell and this portion desirably is slidably guided by the said rear end in such a manner as to prevent the plate from tilting. For this purpose, I am here showing each guide and presser member as having a pair of parallel shanks 15 and 16 extending longitudinally of the sockets and presenting flat faces in a plane diametric of the socket shell. These shanks on the two presser members bear slidably against each other along the said plane and form two spaced pairs of shanks, each of which pairs extends slidably through a correspondingly sha d rforation in the rear end of the soc et s ell as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

With the parts thus arranged, it will be obvious from Fig. 4 that each of the insulators 12 is independently sprlng-pressed and can be moved independent of the other by thecorresponding spring, through the intermediary of the semi-circular presser plate of the adjacent presser member, thereby compensating for any lack of uniformity in the heights of the two contact heads or in the lengths of the lamp terminals 4 and 5. Likewise, the engagement of the shanks 15 and 16 with the slots in the rear end of the socket shells through which these shanks extend will prevent the presser plates from tilting in any direction, so that a roughness ofthe lamp terminals cannot rock or tilt the insulators, thereby permittmg the wires and wire terminals to remaln parallel to the axis of the socket shell.

However, friction between the lamp termmals and the contact heads during the rotatlonal movement of the lamp while this is being secured to the bayonet slots 2 may tend to rotate the insulators. To prevent this, I preferably provide the semi-circular plate of each presser member with a finger 17 extending into a longitudinal slot 18- in the socket shell, each such slot correspond closely in width to the linger housed by the same so as to prevent movement of that finger rotationally of the socket while permitting the linger to slide freely longitudinally of the socket. I also dispose the forward ends of the slots 18 so that they will limit the forward sliding of the fingers 17 and hence of the presser members, thereby retaining these members in normal operative positions in the socket shell. Thus arranged, the said slot and finger arrangement, as well as the engagement of the shanks of the presser mem bers with the walls of the shell end perforations through which they extend, prevent any rotational movement of the presser members about the axis of the socket. If the lamp terminals should tend to catch on the contact heads so as to rotate the insulators, any such rotational tendency would merely cause the wires to engage the bores of the presser plates, thereby prompt ly halting any attempted rotational movement. Consequently, the wire terminals are always limited to movements longitudinally of the socket.

To facilitate the assembling of the parts as'thus arranged, I desirably bevel the flat edge of each insulator adjacent to its rear end, so as to form a beveled edge portion 19 which will make it easy for one of these insulators to he slid into the shell after the other insulator has been inserted. I also make each slot 18 considerably longer than would be required for the normal sliding of the finger on the adjacent presser memher, so that after one of these presser members has been slipped into the shell, this member can be pressed rearwardly of the socket beyond its normal position, thereby permitting the shanks of the other presser member to be sprung sufiiciently to insert the finger of this member into the adjacent slot 18. c

When my socket or connecter is assembled, each presser member and the adjacent insulator forms a slide member which is slidable independently of the other slide member, and each slide member is guided both by the rear end of the shell and by a more forward portion of the bc.-e of the shell so as to prevent it from tipping.

However, while I have illustrated and described my invention in an embodiment including certain highly desirable shapes and arrangements of the various parts, I do notwish to be limited to the construction and arrangement thus disclosed, it being obvious that the same might be modifled in many ways without departing either loo from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. In a double pole socket, a shell open at its forward end, a pair of wire terminals within the shell, :1 pair of insulators to each having one of the wire terminals fastened to the same, the insulators being jointly housed by the shell and independently slidable longitudinally of the shell, a pair of presser members respectively engaging the rear faces of the two insulators, two spring means each urging one of the presser members towards the forward end of the shell, means associated with each presser member for .preventing movement thereof rotation-' ally of the shell, and two wires respectively fastened to the wire terminals and jointly disposed for preventing the insulators from rotating upon-the presser members.

2. A socket as per claim 1, in which each presser member has a perforation through which one of the wires extends, each perforation being of a size closely approaching the outside diameter of the wire which extends through it so as to prevent rotation of the insulators upon the presser members.

3. In a double pole socket, a shell open at its forward end, a pair of wire terminals within the shell, a pair of supporting elements respectively carrying the said terminals, the supporting elements being independently slidable longitudinally of the shell, a pair of presser members respectively engaging the rear faces of the supporting elements, two spring means each urging one of the presser members forwardly, the shell having two longitudinal guide formations and each presser member having a portion engaging one of the guide formations.

4. In a double pole socket, a shell open at its forward end, a pair of wire terminals within the shell, a pair of supporting elements respectively carrying the said ter 'minals. the supporting elements being independently slidable longitudinally of the shell, a pair of presser members respectively engaging the rear faces of the supporting elements, and two spring means respectively urging the two presser members forwardly, the shell having two longitudinal slots and each presser member having a finger housed by and slidable in one of the slots, each finger being adapted to engage the forward end of the adjacent slot so as to limit the forward movement of the corresponding presser member by the spring.

5. In a' double pole socket, a shell, 21 pair of wire terminals within the shell, a pair of supporting elements respectively carrying the said terminals, the supporting ele ments being independently slidable longitudinally of the shell, a pair of presser members respectively engaglng the rear faces of the supporting elements, two spring means respectively engaging the presser members and each urging one presser member forwardly, the shell having a rear end provided with an aperture, each of the presser members having a rearwardly protween the rear end of the shell and one of the slidable means for urging the latter forwardly of the shell.

7 A socket or connecterfor use with a terminal carrier having two base terminals,

comprising a shell provided at its forward end with means for holding the terminal carrier, a pair of independently movable slide members housed by the shell and each having a portion extending transversely of the shell and having its said portion provided with a perforation alining with one of the said base terminals, a pair of circuit wires extending into the shell from the rear thereof and having their ends respectively housed by the said perforations, each wire having a stranded core, a pair of wire terminals each having a head disposed for engaging one of the said base terminals and each having a stem extending into one of the wires between strands of the latter so as to expand the end of the wire into wedging engagement with the wall of the perforation housing that wire end, and two compression springs respectively interposed between the two slide members and a ortion of the shell for continuously and in ependently urging the slide members toward the terminal carrier.

8. A socket or connecter as per claim-7,

in which the shell has a perforate rear end through which the wires and the slide members extend, each slide member being slidably guided by the said rear end and also by a more forward portion of the shell.

9. A socket or connecter for use with a terminalcarrier having two base terminals, comprising a shell provided at its forward end with means for holding the terminal carrier, the shell having a perforate rear end; a pair of independently slidable slide members each having a stem portion extending slidably through the rear end of the shell, and each having a forward portion of a substantially semi-circular contour,

corresponding substantially in radius to the bore of the shell; each of the said semi-cireular portions having a perforation therein; a pair of wire terminals alining respectively longitudinally ofthe shell with the said base terminals, and each having a head disposed for engaging one of the base terminals and a stem extending rearwardly through one 01' the said perforations; a pair of circuit wires extending through the said rear shell end and respectively secured to the said stems; and a pair of compression springs respectively disposed between the said two semi-circular slide member portions and the'rear shell end.

lO. A socket or eonnecter for use with a terminal carrier having two base terminals, comprising a shell provided at its forward end with means for holding the terminal carrier; a pair of insulators each of substantially semi-circular contour; a pair of wire terminals each having a head disposed for engaging one of the said base terminals and each extending rearwardly through one of the insulators, the insulators having their diametrie edges abutting against each other and corresponding jointly in arcuate contour substantially to the bore of the shell, and each insulator being indepently slidable longitudinally of the shell; a pair of circuit wires extending into the shell from the rear thereof and respectively secured directly to the said wire terminals; and a pair of spiral compression springseach interposed between one of the insulators and a more rearward portion of the shell, each of the springs having one of the wires extending through its bore.

Signed at Detroit, Michigan, March 19th, 1925.

,HARLES E. GODLEY. 

